Samsung Propel Pro review

The Samsung Propel Pro currently has an Informr score of 5.6 out of 10.
This score is based on our evaluation of 10
sources including reviews from users and the web's most trusted critics.

Custom

Operating system

Operating system

Custom

528 MHz

Processor

Processor

528 MHz

2.55"

Screen Size

Screen Size

2.55"

3+ MP

Camera

Camera

3+ MP

1440 mAh

Battery

What the Critics Are Saying...

Samsung Propel ProOverviewWhat’s good: Battery life, shape, call quality What’s bad: Cramped keyboard
IntroductionThanks to devices such as the Apple iPhone and the Palm Pre, 2009 has been unofficially coined as the year of the smartphone, and each manufacturer has worked to keep with the demand or...

- Aaron Baker, Phonedog

While it may not quite replace the BlackJack II in my mind when I think of the perfect Windows Mobile messaging smartphone, the novel form factor and nice autofocus camera should certainly give BlackJack owners something to think about when it's time to pick up a new device.With its solid design and...

- Michael Oryl, MobileBurn

Earlier this month at CTIA, AT&T launched quite a few new phones into its lineup, one of which happened to be Samsung's sophisticated, college-educated Propel Pro. For a smartphone, the design is quite unorthodox; rarely do you see a WinMo handset that looks more like a square than anything else...

If your Propel Pro has problems and is still within its warranty period, you could contact Samsung support or the retailer you purchased the phone from. You'll find Samsung's contact information here. If your phone is off warranty and needs repair for a physical problem such as a broken screen or bad battery, you should visit an authorized service centre or a local phone repair shop. You can also connect with others in The Informr Community Forum to find and share answers to questions.

Critic Reviews

Samsung Propel Pro | Review

Samsung Propel Pro

Overview

What’s good:

What’s bad:

Cramped keyboard

Introduction

Thanks to devices such as the Apple iPhone and the Palm Pre, 2009 has been unofficially coined as the year of the smartphone, an...More

Samsung Propel ProOverviewWhat’s good: Battery life, shape, call quality What’s bad: Cramped keyboard
IntroductionThanks to devices such as the Apple iPhone and the Palm Pre, 2009 has been unofficially coined as the year of the smartphone, and each manufacturer has worked to keep with the demand or new devices. Samsung is no exception, launching a broad range of new devices just in time for the summer shopping season. The Propel Pro has taken the popular form factor of the Propel, and morphed it into a device that's acceptable in the corporate world.
Design & FeaturesRealizing the success of slider phones, Samsung has taken the form factor of the Propel, and transferred it into something that is appropriate (albeit new) in a business setting. Though it is prone to fingerprints, the dramatic colors have been replaced by glossy silver, and the manufacturer has replaced its typical user interface with Windows Mobile 6.1. Much like the current trend in inexpensive smartphones, the Propel Pro includes an AC adapter, USB cable, software CD, and instruction manual in the box. On the left side of the device, the power button, volume rocker, and microSD card slot can be found; the right side of the device houses the camera button and the charging port/proprietary headphone input. If there is anything that irritates us about Samsung, it is their unwillingness to use the 3.5mm jack on their devices.

The device itself is relatively powerful, sporting a 528 MHz processor, 126 MB RAM, 256 MB ROM, Bluetooth 2.0, a 3-megapixel camera, and a microSD card slot with support for up to an 8 GB card. The 320x320, 65,000 color screen clocked in at 2.5-inches, and displayed colors well. The phone feels good in the hand as well; it is sturdy, and the slider hinge offers a strong ‘click’ when opened. Despite its feeling in the hand, the Propel Pro is a bit larger than other devices, and offers more of a "square-like" design; one could relate it to the LG Lotus when closed. As such, it is a bit different when trying to fit it into tight spaces. Some may like it, while others may prefer a more elongated phone. We enjoyed it; it is about the size of a deck of cards, and fit easily into a normal pocket.

Coming in at 3 megapixels, the camera was decent. Shutter speed is slow, but given the decent quality of the picture, we were pleasantly surprised. Just make sure to have everyone hold still for several seconds. On the video front, the Propel Pro was decent; a bit of blurriness here and there, but nothing major. Given that its first priority is to be a cell phone, we understand.
Usability & PerformanceIf you're a frequent e-mailer or enjoy text messaging on a regular basis, the Propel Pro's keyboard may be a bit frustrating over time. Though the keys are square and relatively large in comparison to other devices, they're sandwiched together, making it challenging for large hands to type effectively. On a positive note, text messaging is threaded, making it significantly easier to keep track of conversations. The joystick, on the other hand, is a bit challenging to navigate at times. Every now and then, it wouldn't recognize our gestures, making it a bit frustrating when trying to quickly move through menus.

The device is stocked with numerous programs along with the usual PIM applications, which is typical of Windows Mobile smartphones. Included on the device is Microsoft Office Mobile, AT&T's Xpress mail, support for Microsoft Outlook e-mail thanks to Microsoft's Direct Push Technology, PDF viewer, alarm, world clock, D-Day countdown clock, and more. Additionally, AT&T preloads a few programs of their own, most notably My-Cast Weather, eBay, MobiTV, and AT&T Navigator. One of our favorite features, however, centered around AT&T’s Today screen. It does a fantastic job of organizing the necessary programs onto the main screen: time/date, missed calls, voicemail, text messaging, e-mail, appointments, AT&T services, music, photos, and profile/settings.

Additionally, the bottom right key changes depending on what menu the user is in. Simplistic and aesthetically pleasing today screens like TouchFLO 3D are very popular, and AT&T doesn't disappoint in this category.

As a quad-band device with support for GSM 850/900/1800/1900 MHz and tri-band support for UMTS/HSDPA, the Propel Pro can be used around the world. Though no world calls were made, we tested the Propel Pro’s call qualities extensively, and our calls sounded excellent. Everyone said we sounded clear, and reception on our end was strong. Of equal importance, the earpiece was relatively loud, making it easier to conduct a conversation. Speakerphone was ever so slightly tinny, but we could still hear our callers. Another thing we were pleased with was battery life; estimated talk time places the Propel Pro at 6.5 hours, and we got about 7 before the device powered off. With a combination of talking and standby, we were able to get just over two days. Considering the features that this device offers, the battery life is quite a respectable.
ConclusionThe Samsung Propel Pro is a fantastic entry-level smartphone that provides a number of strong features and looks professional to boot. The slider form factor is a relatively new concept in the business field, and Samsung did a fantastic job of integrating consumer looks with professional abilities. Despite a few minor setbacks, it offers fantastic battery life and call quality. As long as the keyboard and form factor are thoroughly tested before purchase, it should be a pleasure to own.
Read full review

Novel form factor and nice autofocus camera

While it may not quite replace the BlackJack II in my mind when I think of the perfect Windows Mobile messaging smartphone, the novel form factor and nice autofocus camera should certainly give BlackJack owners something to think about when it's time to pick up a new device.

With its solid design and good overall functionality, I have no qualms awarding the Propel Pro a "Highly Recommended" rating. It's definitely a smartphone to consider if messaging is your thing, though with the low price of the Nokia E71 and E63 smartphones, it has some real competition right now....

While it may not quite replace the BlackJack II in my mind when I think of the perfect Windows Mobile messaging smartphone, the novel form factor and nice autofocus camera should certainly give BlackJack owners something to think about when it's time to pick up a new device.

With its solid design and good overall functionality, I have no qualms awarding the Propel Pro a "Highly Recommended" rating. It's definitely a smartphone to consider if messaging is your thing, though with the low price of the Nokia E71 and E63 smartphones, it has some real competition right now.

Samsung's Propel Pro does WinMo 6.1 about as good as it can be done without any super fancy overlays

Earlier this month at CTIA, AT&T launched quite a few new phones into its lineup, one of which happened to be Samsung's sophisticated, college-educated Propel Pro. For a smartphone, the design is quite unorthodox; rarely do you see a WinMo handset that looks more like a square than anything else and can easily double as a mirror for the fashionistas. Engineered specifically for those who favor texting but can't afford to live without the luxuries that come with owning a bona fide smartphone with a bona fide data plan, the Propel Pro caters to an interesting niche. Follow us past the break for our thoughts on the just-launched handset....

Earlier this month at CTIA, AT&T launched quite a few new phones into its lineup, one of which happened to be Samsung's sophisticated, college-educated Propel Pro. For a smartphone, the design is quite unorthodox; rarely do you see a WinMo handset that looks more like a square than anything else and can easily double as a mirror for the fashionistas. Engineered specifically for those who favor texting but can't afford to live without the luxuries that come with owning a bona fide smartphone with a bona fide data plan, the Propel Pro caters to an interesting niche. Follow us past the break for our thoughts on the just-launched handset.

DesignSay what you will about our tastes, but we dig the overall design of this here handset. BlackBerry converts won't find it any thicker than most of the slabs they've willingly dealt with over the past few years, and even those coming from a touchscreen-based handset won't notice an awful lot of heft. And, for whatever reason, we just can't shake the notion that the Propel Pro is downright cute. Maybe it's the resemblance to a traditional compact, or maybe it's the overt love affair with all things chrome and shiny; whatever it is, we've found the formula quite appealing.

User Reviews

I miss my black jack ii

My pretty pink blackjack ii died after about a year and a half, and the Samsung i627 was the manufacturer's replacement. First of all, they only had "silver," which is actually "black." So I was very disappointed that I could not get a) a black jack ii or b) a pink phone at all.
As others have said, t...More

My pretty pink blackjack ii died after about a year and a half, and the Samsung i627 was the manufacturer's replacement. First of all, they only had "silver," which is actually "black." So I was very disappointed that I could not get a) a black jack ii or b) a pink phone at all.
As others have said, the battery life is a joke. I had to charge my black jack ii every other night. With the same use, I have to turn this phone off because the battery is dying before I even get home. Very annoying. Why even have a cell phone if it's going to be dead when you could need it most (late at night)?
The picture quality is comparable to the black jack ii.
The reception is worse than the black jack ii. I am in the same spots in my house trying to make a call, and it gets dropped.
It doesn't seem to have a notepad like the black jack ii did--am I missing something?
Sometimes it takes my having to manually delete all 3 of my email accounts for my text messaging to work. W. T. F.
The instant messaging function gets an error message I've never seen before and it makes a horrible LOUD beeping noise, I guess when the reception gets lost? Which is ALL THE TIME.
I am going to try to get a different phone, but who knows how that will go. This phone is a LEMON.
If the phone WORKED, it wouldn't be so bad. I like the operating system.
Less

Propel this phone away from you...

I am going on a week with the replacement to my BlackJack. At&T insurance offers this phone as the replacement. First experience is third party apps are not supported, NOT SUPPORTED!? I was able to find a security patch online to unlock this feature, cool. I use Google email, contacts and calendar, aft...More

I am going on a week with the replacement to my BlackJack. At&T insurance offers this phone as the replacement. First experience is third party apps are not supported, NOT SUPPORTED!? I was able to find a security patch online to unlock this feature, cool. I use Google email, contacts and calendar, after downloading the Google app, the graphic display for the Google toolbar was distorted and offset the front screen. Speed of the phone dropped about 20%. Result, uninstalled the app and use Google sync.
My wife has a Samsung SGH-a707 (3+ yr old phone) we live 1/2 mile from a cell phone repeater, her phone has 3 bars, mine hobbles in and out with one bar. Are you kidding me? Even when outside I only get 2.5 bars, I have yet to see full bars on this phone.
The battery life fully charged with two calls of around 8 minutes talk time was dead by 9:30PM. When I was receiving emails to the phone by 6:30PM it died. What is this the Apollo 13 phone? You have to toggle applications on and off to make it through the day?
I must be fair and say that the slide out feature of the phone is solid, the phone itself looks and feels great. Screen resolution for its class is an upgrade from the BlackJack series.
However Samsung designers should have propelled this design to the trash.
After reading other reviews of this phone, I wonder how AT&T expects me to stay with their network by sending an Achilles heel replacement phone that has obvious design issues?
Avoid this phone and live a better life.
Less

DON"T BUY THIS PHONE!!!

I got this phone because when my Blackjack II started malfunctioning and eventually played out this was the replacement phone via AT&T phone insurance (Blackjack phone is also discontinued). Personally I believe this phone is simply defective! The "z" key would only type the letter "s"--even after a s...More

I got this phone because when my Blackjack II started malfunctioning and eventually played out this was the replacement phone via AT&T phone insurance (Blackjack phone is also discontinued). Personally I believe this phone is simply defective! The "z" key would only type the letter "s"--even after a soft-reset that fixed the problem for only a day. Then reset back to the letter "s". I also found that the phone doesn't always wake when u push a button if it's in sleep mode. The download ringtones are extremely low. I have had several missed calls due to poor volume. Like other users, I found the joystick to be kinda jumpy & imprecise. You get better at it with practice; however I still sometimes end up in a screen--or about to make a call--unintentionally. I also found the battery life to be ridiculously bad--just read about using the task manager to make sure all programs are ended and I'll have to try it--or maybe it's not even worth it at. Lastly, there is no way to transfer all the data from one phone to a replacement. Sure, all the contacts and calendar information can be synchronized over, but everything in the 'notepad' function and favorite websites have to be manually entered. I use the notepad function heavily and this has been a major pain. I am on my 3rd replacement phone going on my 4th! I refuse to accept another one of these. They are simply poor quality.
Less

DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY!

This is the worst phone I've every owned. I rated it one star only because there is no zero star or negative rating.
Battery life is dismal... Charge it in the morning, and it is dead by 6 PM. The Bluetooth is very unreliable as well.
The "keyboard" lock is useless, as it unlocks itself any time it...More

This is the worst phone I've every owned. I rated it one star only because there is no zero star or negative rating.
Battery life is dismal... Charge it in the morning, and it is dead by 6 PM. The Bluetooth is very unreliable as well.
The "keyboard" lock is useless, as it unlocks itself any time it connects to Bluetooth, or if any alarm sounds. This causes frequent "but dials" and unwanted disconnect. Samsung and AT&T support for this phone also sucks. DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY!
Less

Propels you forward

Pro: very lightweight, slender, good color, good features, full keyboard
Con: none
I have had the Samsung Propel Pro for about half a year and I love it more than any other phone I have ever had! It has everything I could ever need out of a phone, full keyboard, lightweight, a nice color, calendar, g...More

Pro: very lightweight, slender, good color, good features, full keyboard
Con: none
I have had the Samsung Propel Pro for about half a year and I love it more than any other phone I have ever had! It has everything I could ever need out of a phone, full keyboard, lightweight, a nice color, calendar, games, SMS, ect. There is so much to say about it that it cant even be said with 4,000 characters, so I will leave you with this, you will NOT be disappointed with this phone and you will love it!
Less

half good, half bad

Overall good phone, sliding lock for a windows phone is a big plus, no need to unlock and lock phone with buttons. Bigger screen then blackjack 2, nicer look. Feels good in the pocket. Gps works instantly with google maps, unlike blackjack 2 which takes about 5 mins. Voice caller id is a big plus f...More

Overall good phone, sliding lock for a windows phone is a big plus, no need to unlock and lock phone with buttons. Bigger screen then blackjack 2, nicer look. Feels good in the pocket. Gps works instantly with google maps, unlike blackjack 2 which takes about 5 mins. Voice caller id is a big plus for me. Makes up for the stuck increasing ringtone bug.
Negatives include phone reception not as good as blackjack 2, battery life shorter, and issue with bluetooth routing on my 06 acura tl, voice does not come thru speaker when dialing out. workaround would be to turn handsfree off, then hit speaker button on car, then turn handsfree back on. also bluetooth connection to your car will unlock the buttons on the phone. workaround would be to manually lock phone while driving.
one more issue, two tier security means no one has app unlocked this phone yet.
Less

Mostly good, some bad

Overall good phone, sliding lock for a windows phone is a big plus, no need to unlock and lock phone with buttons. Bigger screen then blackjack 2, nicer look. Feels good in the pocket. Gps works instantly with google maps, unlike blackjack 2 which takes about 5 mins. Voice caller id is a big plus f...More

Overall good phone, sliding lock for a windows phone is a big plus, no need to unlock and lock phone with buttons. Bigger screen then blackjack 2, nicer look. Feels good in the pocket. Gps works instantly with google maps, unlike blackjack 2 which takes about 5 mins. Voice caller id is a big plus for me. Makes up for the stuck increasing ringtone bug.
Negatives include phone reception not as good as blackjack 2, battery life shorter, and issue with bluetooth routing on my 06 acura tl, voice does not come thru speaker when dialing out.
Less

We want you to know that The Informr is an independent resource. While we aim to provide
you with the most accurate information and keep things up to date, prices and terms of products
and services can change. We encourage you to always do your own research and double check the
terms. Using the information on this site is at your own risk and without warranty.

You should also know that in some cases, we may receive compensation when you click on links or
purchase through links on this site. This is at no extra cost to you. It lets us operate the
business and keep the service free for everyone. Here's
How We Make Money.